What gave Harry Potter, Rodion Raskolnikov and other literary heroes
Deserted little square on the outskirts of the city. You rarely see anyone in this area. Everyone prefers to live closer to the center, where life is raging at a frantic pace. But for a self-taught artist - this is what you need. Every morning, no light, no dawn, he comes here with big box colored crayons, unhurriedly lays them out and gets to work.
Most often, nature becomes the main character of his drawings. Clouds, trees, flowerbeds, benches and dilapidated paths come together, play in a completely new way and begin new life on asphalt.
TO next day the whole landscape will be erased and trampled down by people, washed away by rain and covered with withered leaves. But the artist will redraw his work without a drop of regret. He will re-draw every blade of grass and petal, convey every color ratio, repeat any detail of yesterday's landscape. He will study the little things that, alas, no one will notice and appreciate.
"Ungrateful work" - you say. " Thankless life"- he will answer you.
Although sometimes things are different. He will come to the same place, stooped and drooping, throwing crayons and running around the park in search of the ideal nature. He will peer into every stone, and if he suddenly doesn’t like something, he will snort contemptuously and leave to look for another muse. It seems that everything is already ready, there is a look, material, “paper”. Everything, like yesterday, like the day before yesterday, like a week, and a month ago. He, muttering something under his breath, will strike on the pavement, wipe it with his hand, draw again, and erase it again. He will look contemptuously at the meaningless color spots, turn around and go home. There is no inspiration.
Arriving home, he will get an easel, tubes of oil paint, hard and dirty from time to time brushes and palette knife. He will draw some kind of sweetly smiling girl, or some frowning man from the photo. Or maybe put a "very original" still life with heavy drapery, apples, flowers and a vase. Everything that the customer wishes will be reflected on the canvas in a matter of hours. Juicy fruits bathe in the rays of the sun, flowers will bloom and smell even more than in nature, and in glass vase burgundy fabric will be reflected. Impeccable in terms of painting. Sickening, sweet. But one detail on the canvas will always be missed. It won't have a soul. He left her remains in the park.
As it turned out, the smell of damp asphalt lured him much more than the fragrant scent of roses.
And so it is repeated from time to time. Every seven days in a week, every thirty in a month, every ninety-something in a season, every three hundred and sixty-five in a year. So it will be this Sunday morning in November.
The young man walked along the road leading to the same place mentioned above. The wind with force fluttered his black long hair, they obtrusively climbed into the face and blinded the eyes. But he didn't seem to notice. Concentrated thinking about something of his own and enchanted looked at one point.
Soon he came to his yesterday's place in the park. The landscape was almost not erased, it was quite possible to distinguish the main features and some moments. Apparently, this attracted the attention of the girl, who was so attentively examining a simple sketch with crayons.
Do you like it? - approached her and asked the artist.
BUT? she asked, and looked at him, finally tearing herself away from the drawing. "Sorry, I didn't see you coming up."
Never mind. I asked - how do you like this drawing?
Very nice. So detailed and… cute. I am no critic. But I like. Did you draw this? - the girl hesitated. A chill ran through the skin, from his penetrating gaze brown eyes. As if he was looking not at the face, but into the soul.
Yeah, he replied softly and slowly. - For me it highest degree praise. You don't usually hear that here.
Is there anything you can hear here? Well, I'm talking about the fact that few people go here. You would go somewhere closer to the residential part, perhaps there you would find spectators who appreciated your talent.
I like silence. She is my inspiration and muse rolled into one. And I'm not looking for criticism. I won't bear it.
I see,” she answered confusedly, turned away and sat down on a bench. And the artist began to lay out the crayons on the damp pavement.
Having done this, he was in no hurry to start painting. He began to look at the girl closely.
She was clearly no more than eighteen years old. Thick red hair fell over her shoulders and over a thin mustard-yellow jacket. Despite the chilly wind, she did not have a hat on, apparently she did not want to spoil and hide perfectly laid wavy strands. Although the wind made its own adjustments to the hairstyle, it did not spoil at all overall picture rather, it gave her a special charm. Her face was pale and thin, her cheeks were decorated with barely noticeable freckles. She had warm eyes green color with an admixture of ocher-brown, like honey spots. The longer the artist looked at her, the more he did not want to break away from this activity, the more he noticed details and zest in her appearance.
The girl seems to have noticed. She smiled slightly, embarrassment made her cheeks slightly pink shade.
Do you want to change your muse at least today?
What do you mean?
Can you draw me? - she said with a fervent challenge in her voice.
I think I can, - he answered with a grin and immediately began to outline facial features with beige chalk. Are you waiting for someone here?
Yes. How did you know about it?
Yes, you keep looking at your watch nervously. That's how I decided. Who are you waiting for, if not a secret?
I made an appointment to meet a guy here.
Strange place and time for a date.
Eight in the morning? Yes, probably. Or maybe I got something mixed up. Do not know.
No offense, but the same is better. I guess your portrait isn't painted every day.
For a while, silence reigned in the square again. Soon on the pavement it was already possible to see a face with carefully traced features. The artist did not try to draw quickly in order to complete the work as soon as possible and not delay the girl, no. He wasn't in a hurry; rather, time was speeding up.
This happens by itself when you are afraid to lose inspiration and forget what you wanted to do. You try to keep it to yourself, to embrace and embody a lot of ideas at once. And you rush headlong into the creative process, forgetting who you are and where you are. You are addicted to it, like a drug, and it is already impossible to stop. You draw every smallest detail until you run out of paper; you correct all mistakes and shortcomings until you reach your ideal; make the colors brighter, and then grind and muffle them until the material runs out. And so on, until the soul gets tired and says: “Done!”. You will lift your eyes from the joyful feelings that overwhelm you, move away and look at the work. And then you turn around, spit annoyedly and leave.
Only after several such trials and disappointments can you call yourself an artist. And plus one thousand five hundred points to karma, if you realize that the drawing process itself is much more important than the result.
What is your name anyway?
Lily. Lily Evans. And you?
Severus. I won't say my last name, we'll never meet again anyway.
Why are you so sure of this? The girl raised her eyebrows in surprise.
You are now trying to flirt with a guy you don't know, although you yourself are on a date with a completely different one. Don't you find it strange? He smiled and answered the question with a question.
First of all, I'm not flirting, I was just asking. Who's to blame that you liked me? You yourself agreed to draw me, - she said feignedly. - Secondly, who said that I'm waiting for a guy? James is my classmate, we studied together at Hogwarts and decided to meet outside the school walls.
Hogwarts?
You see, I have already shaken too much. Now we just have to meet at least one more time.
Why all of a sudden? I don’t talk to anyone, and I won’t even have anyone to tell about this super-scary Hogwarts.
It's not even that.
And in what? Severus snorted.
Then I'll have to erase your memory with Obliviate. No Muggle should even know about it.
Are you serious?
Quite, - she said, breaking into hysterical laughter, she was so driven by the incredulous, bewildered expression on the young man's face.
Who will understand you girls. You reproach me with frivolity, but you yourself burst into laughter, - he shook his head and continued to work.
He had to do only the most difficult part - the hair. Believe me, learning how to draw two proportional eyes or a Gioconda smile will be much easier than not turning your hair into a huge orange mass.
The girl stood in profile, most of the drawing was occupied by strands fluttering in the wind.
All the difficulties were precisely in color. Terrible mistake paint over with red and make everything a single-color spot. Unforgivable - add yellow, ocher, brown, red, beige and, perhaps, even that gray-brown-raspberry there, turning them into a combined hodgepodge autumn leaves. Need to find golden mean and willpower, so as not to demonstrate the entire rich palette of colors available to the artist. And this temptation is almost always present.
Drawing this part of the portrait drove the artist crazy. From time to time he thoughtfully looked at the drawing and rubbed the chalk worn into dust in his hands. In the next second, he jumped up, grabbed the pastel in his hand and creaked it on the pavement in agony. I threw it aside and started all over again.
Hmm, he broke the silence. - If you're interested, I've already finished drawing.
Oh… Wow! Now I can say with full confidence that you draw people even better than nature.
Thanks.
And that's it? Do you just drop a drawing here every time? He'll rub off.
What else can I do? He's on the asphalt.
You could take pictures of them.
In response, the girl just shrugged.
Can we… take a walk? Severus suggested uncertainly.
Let's. And then my legs are already numb, sitting for so long.
What about your boyfriend?
It's already ten past ten. I don't think he will come.
Was it taking me so long to draw? Funny, I didn't even notice it.
It happens. Sometimes I, too, can be so carried away by something that I don’t notice others at all. Take potions lessons...
Potions? Can you tell me something about this strange Hogwarts?
With pleasure. Just please don't interrupt...
Dangerous Bellatrix, incredible Viktor Krum and funny James Potter and Sirius Black in their youth, who became the favorites of JK Rowling herself - we have collected 13 for you best examples fan art that perfectly illustrates our favorite books.
1 Bellatrix Lestrange
Have you ever felt that Bellatrix in the film is a little overacting? After escaping from Azkaban, she seems to have lost not only her mind, but also the manners of a lady from a noble, pureblood magical family. Artist LeskaArt tried to imagine what Bellatrix might have been like before Azkaban. Regal, arrogant, subtly similar to Helena Bonham Carter, who played this role in the films, and to relatives - Sirius Black and Narcissa Malfoy.
2. Luna Lovegood
Luna Lovegood is perhaps the most unusual member of the Potter team. She always dresses the way she likes and only says and does what she thinks is right. The artist, hiding under the nickname cseguritanart, managed to convey all this in a vivid portrait. Spectral goggles and a hare Patronus are included.
3. Professor Dumbledore
The artist albus119 titled his illustration "June 30, 1997", referring to last day life of Dumbledore - the day of the fatal fight on the astronomical tower. The headmaster of Hogwarts was then 115 years old, and this image well reflects his age and mood. Note that his arm, cursed by the Dark Lord's Horcrux, is visible in the background. A weeping phoenix, apparently, marks a premonition of an imminent loss.
4. Death Eater
In the movies, the Death Eaters are simply dressed in black and wear skull-like masks. The artist under the nickname AlexLazar came up with much more complex image. An imposing gold-rimmed cloak, a crown-shaped headpiece, and a skull mask illuminated by an unsettling blue glow give the figure a formidable appearance and underline their claim to the supremacy of pure-blood magicians in the world of wizards.
5. Hagrid
Robbie Coltrane was a great Hagrid and captured the essence of this character on screen perfectly, but artist tonton-jojo presents him differently. He not only noted important details his book images are huge as garbage can lids, arms, shaggy hair and beard that hides most of his face, and clothes that seem to be hand-sewn from animal skins. He also managed to convey the true age of the half-giant forester. According to the books, Hagrid was born in 1928, which means that during the events described, he must be about 60 years old.
6. Hermione Granger
After a dark-skinned actress played the role of the grown-up Hermione in the play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", readers began to argue about her racial identity. Author J.K. Rowling herself added fuel to the fire by tweeting that she never called Hermione fair-skinned in the books and that she likes black Hermione. Some people have already come to terms with this. For example, the artist under the nickname aeyon created her portrait in this interpretation.
7. Viktor Krum
Let's be honest: in the movies, this character didn't fit the canon at all. He must be dark-haired, with pointed nose, and Stanislav Yanevsky, who embodied his image on the screen, is almost blond with a potato nose. Artist sachi813 has drawn his own version of Krum, and it's much closer to the book.
8 Voldemort
In the films, Voldemort was certainly a frightening figure, but still did not fully live up to his description in the books. Rowling described him as a terrible person, whose face resembled both a skull and a reptile. His long fingers They looked like spider legs, vertical pupils with slits made you think of cats, and nostril slits - of snakes. The artist under the name aeyon tried to emphasize all these qualities. There is almost nothing human left in this Dark Lord. This is a cross between a snake and a skeleton.
9. James and Sirius
JK Rowling herself drew attention to this image, calling it her favorite. The artist under the name artofpan showed James Potter and Sirius Black in 1978, right after they graduated from Hogwarts. Looking at the photos shown in the films, it's hard to believe that they were only 21 years old when the First Wizarding War happened, but here it is conveyed very well.
10. Lily Evans
Unfortunately, in the films, Harry's mother, Lily Evans, was hardly shown to us, she only briefly appeared a few times in the characters' flashbacks and a number of other scenes. Her role was played by 30-year-old Geraldine Somerville, who looked her age and, according to many, was not too suitable for the role of the heroine, who died at 21. An artist named lily-lou-love decided to correct this mistake and showed us the young, carefree Lily as she was during her studies at Hogwarts. The result is an incredibly bright, warm and lively image that perfectly matches the books.
11. Sirius Black
We do not argue: Gary Oldman as Sirius Black looks great on the screen. However, like most heroes, he is a bit old for his 36 years. Perhaps the years spent in Azkaban had affected him that way. But it will be interesting for us to see his younger version, right? The artist under the nickname byLau gave us such an opportunity.
12. Ron and Hermione
Many fans do not like how the film shows the development of Ron and Hermione's relationship - too little time is devoted to romance on the screen, so their relationship seems to fall from the sky and are remembered only by endless swearing. The artist under the nickname lila-selle presented her version of the characters with the participation of the dark-skinned Hermione. It seems to us that in this picture, the characters show more affection with body language than they have shown in all the films. They finally look happy together, which is great.
13. Harry and Ginny
And here is another couple not very well shown in the films. Few people paid attention to Ginny, until suddenly a romantic plot began to be drawn for her on the screen. Her most interesting qualities were either not shown at all in the film adaptations, or were lost in the maelstrom of other events. Artist Salzburger89 showed Harry and Ginny after Hogwarts, and their images fit much better with what they deserve to be together. Auror Harry here looks like a Muggle, so that it would be more convenient for him to move between our and the magical worlds in pursuit of criminals. Ginny is dressed in a Quidditch uniform - not standard, but definitely aerodynamically comfortable. They are simply amazing in their self-confidence.
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"The Gift of the Magi" O'Henry
Gift: watch chain/comb set
Who donated: Della and her husband Jim to each other
Quote:“And here I was telling you an unremarkable story about two stupid children from an eight-dollar apartment who, in the most unwise way, sacrificed their greatest treasures for each other. But let it be said for the edification of the wise men of our day, that of all the givers these two were the wisest."
Context: Classic Christmas story great feeling: Della dreamed of tortoiseshell combs, Jim dreamed of a platinum chain. To please each other, both parted with the most expensive - hair and watches. The Christmas story of O'Henry is about how love and life are connected: "And now, perhaps, it's time to fry cutlets."
The Catcher in the Rye by Jerome D. Salinger
Gift: red hunting hat
Who donated: Holden Caulfield to his sister Phoebe
Quote:“She said that it would be better if I went to bed here, in her room, but I said no, Mr. Antolini is already waiting for me. Then I took a hunting cap out of my pocket and gave it to her. She is terribly fond of all sorts of stupid hats.
Context: Even though Holden's hunting hat, which he wore backwards, cost only a dollar, the Salinger hero has become so used to this ridiculous headdress that he still wipes tears when he hands the hat to his sister.
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" JK Rowling
Gift: broom "Lightning"
Who was given: Harry Potter his godfather Sirius Black
Quote:“And not just a broom, but the same Lightning that Harry admired every day when he lived in Diagon Alley. He took the broom in his hands. The shaft flashed, the broom trembled, Harry let it go, and it hung in the air - sit down and fly. At the tip of the shaft was a golden registration number, smooth straight birch rods were like a selection.
Context: Potteriana is, among other things, a wonderful detective story. When reading a novel for the first time, it's hard to guess what the best broom magical world Harry was given a criminal who escaped from Azkaban, who can turn into a dog. Well, "Lightning" more than once rescued Potter - until it was destroyed in the seventh book.
Anniversary of Tele2 launch in Moscow
Gift: prizes and nice gifts
Who donates: mobile operator Tele2 to its subscribers
Quote:“We decided to brightly celebrate the first birthday of the company in Moscow and please our subscribers. We want to thank them for choosing Tele2 and staying with us. And in addition to high-quality communication on affordable price want to present our capital customers with original and useful gifts”, - Igor Zhizhikin, director of the macro-region Moscow Tele2.
Context: In honor of the anniversary of the launch of Tele2, the operator gives gifts to Muscovites: an annual subscription to a fitness club or a chain of cinemas, gift cards, a trip to a country hotel for the weekend, a trip with a stylist to shopping center, a year of free Tele2 communication and other prizes. Every day the company will choose one winner creative competition who will get the prize. More about the competition -.
And if before creative tasks hands do not reach, just register an operator and receive daily bonuses and discounts from promotion partners for purchases in online stores, ordering air tickets, taxi services, movie tickets, concerts and theaters.
"Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Gift:Golden ring
Who donated: Dunya Raskolnikov to her brother Rodion Raskolnikov
Quote:“A month and a half ago, he remembered the address; he had two things suitable for pawning: his father's old silver watch and a small gold ring with three some kind of red pebbles, given to him at parting by his sister, as a keepsake.
Context: Almost the most sinister gift in Russian literature: the golden ring is directly related to the murder of the old pawnbroker. Before he could hand it over to Alena Ivanovna, Raskolnikov “felt an irresistible disgust for her,” as if parting with Gollum’s “charm” or, to take an example from a later tale, Marvolo Gaunt’s ring, from which another nihilist killer made his second Horcrux.
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Gift: whip
Who was given: Emma Bovary to her lover Rodolphe Boulanger
Quote:“In addition to a whip with a gilded handle, Rodolphe received as a gift a signet with the motto “Amor nel car”, a scarf and, finally, a cigarette case, exactly the same as the viscount had - the viscount once dropped the cigarette case on the road, Charles picked it up, and Emma hid in memory. Rodolphe considered it humiliating to receive gifts from Emma. Some he refused, but Emma insisted, and in the end, having come to the conclusion that Emma was tyrannical and assertive, he submitted.
Context: Wishing to bind a lover more firmly to himself, main character the great Flaubert novel and did not think to save: a whip noticed in a Rouen shop cost her more than 270 francs. Gifts were also accompanied by her relationship with Leon: he got a rug with a velvet border, Emma got slippers trimmed with swan down. Excessive spending led to tragedy: oppressed by creditors, Madame Bovary committed suicide by poisoning herself with arsenic.
The Night Before Christmas by Nikolai Gogol
Gift: slippers
Who was given: blacksmith Vakula Oksana
Quote:“Yes,” the beauty continued proudly, “all of you will be witnesses: if the blacksmith Vakula brings the very slippers that the queen wears, then here is my word that I will marry him the same hour.”
Context: The condition that the most capricious heroine of "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" set before her admirer seemed impossible: where is Vakula, and where is Catherine II? The devil and the Zaporozhye Cossacks came to the rescue: the blacksmith who arrived in "Petemburg" managed to exchange a couple of phrases with the Empress - and still get the coveted shoes. Vakula's enthusiasm was rewarded. “I don’t even have chereviks…” Oksana capitulated, blushing.
"Childhood" of Leo Tolstoy
Gift: poem
Who was given: Nikolenka Irteniev to her grandmother
Quote:“When they began to approach the chair, I suddenly felt that I was under the heavy influence of an irresistible stupefying shyness, and, feeling that I would never have the courage to bring my gift, I hid behind the back of Karl Ivanovich, who, in the most selective expressions, congratulated my grandmother, moved the box from right hand to the left, handed it to the birthday girl and walked a few steps to make room for Volodya.
Context: Having composed some verses for grandmother’s name day (“We will try to console, / And we love how mother”), Nikolenka hesitates to present them - after all, others give something more tangible, such as a drawing or a box. The recipient of this naive lyrics was surprised, but not upset. “When everything was read, the grandmother said: “Charming!” and kissed me on the forehead.
Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
Gift: pincushion
Who was given: Miss Tox Fanny Dombey
Quote: " Paul, it's just a dressing table pincushion, but I'm going to say, I must say, and I'll say that Miss Tox has very nicely found a saying befitting the occasion. I find "Welcome Little Dombey" is poetry itself!"
Context: Pincushion - customary in English families mother's gift after the birth of a child. In Dickens, he acquires a tragic halo: Fanny Dombey dies immediately after her son was born.
"Doctor Zhivago" by Boris Pasternak
Gift: set of Ural minerals
Who was given: Misha Gordon Yuri Zhivago's father - Andrey
Quote:“Here he remembered something new, turned pale with horror and began to talk and forget. To Misha, he showed an inexplicable, probably reflected and, perhaps, not meant for him tenderness. Every minute he gave him something, for which he went out at the largest stations to the halls of the first class, where there were book racks and sold games and sights of the region.
Context: Doctor Zhivago is built according to the laws of a nineteenth-century adventurous-sentimental novel: in the end, it turns out that everyone knows everyone. Yuri Zhivago's father was on the train with Misha Gordon, presented him with a box of Ural minerals, and jumped out of the train at full speed. So already in the first part, Pasternak hints that in the course of the plot the lines of heroes will certainly intersect, and the action of the book will move deep into Russia - on the other side of the Ural Mountains.
Gone Girl Gillian Flynn
Gift: japanese vase
Who was given: married couple Dunn guests invited to the wedding
Quote:“I felt something inside shrink. Why? Amy's favorite vase was lying unharmed on the floor, rolled up against the wall. wedding gift. Work Japanese masters, my wife hid the vase once a week before the janitor came, fearing that he would break it.
Context: A black day in the life of Nick Dunn: in the morning he wondered what to buy his unloved wife for the fifth wedding anniversary, and in the afternoon she disappeared - and the police believe, with his direct participation. However, to draw such conclusions, law enforcement agencies are too inattentive: how could a fragile vase survive if, in their opinion, there was an intense struggle in the living room?
Dear Friend Guy de Maupassant
Gift: Legion of Honor
Who was given: Georges Duroy Madeleine Forestier
Quote:"So here's to you. new year gift- I just got it from Laroche.
And she handed him a small black box, like a case for gold things.
Context: Journalist Duroy will marry Suzanne Walter and enter one of the richest families in France. The highest national award is just nice bonus: "I would prefer ten million."
"Odyssey" by Homer
Gift: bag with all the winds
Who was given: Odysseus the demigod Aeolus
Quote:
“Many fine treasures already from the Trojan booty
He carries with him. And we who have done the same
The path, we return to our native land empty-handed.
Also now Eol gave him a friendly generous gift.
Come on, let's quickly see what's there,
How much valuable silver and gold is hidden in a bag.
Context: The ancient Greek lord of the winds, Aeolus, gave Odysseus typhoons and storms, putting them in the skin of a nine-year-old bull. The team failed: when Ithaca appeared on the horizon, Odysseus's greedy companions untied the bag - and the way home stretched for another ten songs. On the other hand, when else would he have visited the sorceress Circe - or descended into Hades?
Context: The mirror in which Dorian Gray admires himself is the second most important artifact and symbol of the novel. Referring to it towards the end of the book, the hero realizes that "his youth has ruined him" - and in a rage he throws the mirror to the floor, finishing off the silver fragments with his heel.
"Every gift, even the smallest, becomes a great gift if you give it with love." John Walcott, writer